The craftsmen in the Gretsch Custom Shop have taken yet another step towards making the most historically accurate Gretsch guitars they can. After almost a year of research, development and production, new White Penguin and White Falcon guitars coming out of the Custom Shop will feature redesigned vintage correct Cadillac G tailpieces. Gretsch
One of the most distinctively stylish features of Gretsch guitars past and present is the “G arrow” control knob. If you already own a Gretsch, you know what we’re referring to—the volume and tone knobs on your instrument, which are in most cases adorned with an engraved later “G” pierced by an arrow. This was an early but not original development. Gretsch’s earliest electric guitars of the late 1940s and early 1950s—mostly Hawaiian lap steel and arch-top Electromatic models—had plain control knobs. When the original golden age of Gretsch electric guitars began in earnest in 1954, a much more distinctive control knob style was adopted, quite unlike that of contemporaries such as Fender and Gibson. 1954 saw the introduction of gold- and chrome-plated brass knobs with plain unadorned tops and a crosshatched pattern around the circumference.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers lived up to their headlining status at this year’s Austin City Limits music festival with a scorching Sunday night performance. One of the songs that they offered their screaming audience was “Otherside,” a track off their 1999 hit Californication.